Ice Cream chain sues WNYW over consumer watchdog investigation

A reporter for New York City’s WNYW, Fox 5 and best known for his “Shame Shame, Shame” consumer reports is now being sued by an Ice Cream chain that was featured in a report .

In May, Arnold Diaz, did a “Shame, Shame, Shame” report on WNYW/Channel 5 accusing a local ice cream chain of claiming to be healthier than it actually is. For evidence, the veteran consumer reporter Diaz samples to a laboratory to prove his point.

Now, Diaz and WNYW are now being sued by the ice cream company –D’Lites Emporium owner Matthew Prince.

The lawsuit, filed on Monday, alleges that the laboratory used by WNYW was testing unfrozen, concentrated ice cream mix and not the frozen, relatively diluted product sold to customers. Matthew Prince, the owner of D’Lites stores on Long Island and the person that filed the lawsuit, says that Diaz’s report has significantly hurt business.

Prince states in his complaint that the process of making his ice cream would change nutritional value in liquid form. Diaz’s samples, apparently, melted substantially.

The lawsuit names parent company News Corp and FOX 5, alleging the makers of the broadcast knowingly ignored the laboratory’s corrected verdict for the sake of good television.

A spokeswoman for Fox 5, who responded to Reuters’ request to News Corp for comment, disputed Prince’s claim. “FOX 5 stands by Arnold Diaz’s story,” the spokeswoman said in an e-mail.

D’Lites Emporium — which is unrelated to the similarly named Tasti D-Lite ice cream chain — is an ice cream company based in Coral Springs, Florida. Prince is one of the company’s several licensees around the country. He says that as a result of the broadcast hundreds of customers have stayed away and that his business expansion plans have been derailed

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